


Take Up Thy Shield

by EtherealNyx



Series: Pre-Game Galar Works [5]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hospitalization, Nonbinary Character, like. a lot., this doesn't apply to Allister though dw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-10 22:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20535533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtherealNyx/pseuds/EtherealNyx
Summary: Family means no one gets left behind, apparently. Talk about a half-truth.In which white candles are concerning, a contest goes wrong, and things start to get put right.





	1. A Moment in the Hospital

**Author's Note:**

> I spent 5 minutes figuring out the summary because I have a pattern now. Anyway, if you read my first fic with these two, I hc Bea and Allister as siblings, and have two separate verses to explain the differences between gyms in Sword and Shield. In Shieldverse, Bea is bedridden and Allister is taking up the mantle for their gym. This is THAT story.
> 
> Please enjoy!

The hospital smelled clean. Was that the right word? No. It smelled _ sterile. _

Allister sat in a chair too big for their body, their Mimikyu snoozing in their lap. At one point, they too had drifted off, but now they were uncomfortably awake. It was the cold, they decided. That had done it.

Waiting for a nurse to come was the worst part. It wasn’t seeing how frail Bea looked, surrounded by cords and monitors. It wasn’t talking to the medical staff either, no matter how hard it was to get the words out. It was the waiting. Just existing in this space led to the sense that bad news was always around the corner. They were never sure until they opened the door.

They slowly kicked their legs back and forth; disturbing Mimikyu was less than ideal, but they had to get the nervous energy out _ somehow _. The sad thing was, the month had started well.

One constant in their family was a belief in the importance of training. Allister was not physically adept, but they completed a less strenuous form of Bea’s morning routine every single day. Afterwards, they both took care of their online studies - she was personally invested in treating battle-related injuries lately - before training their Pokémon.

Mimikyu was getting stronger. They remembered her being proud of that fact.

Then she sprung the news.

“The champion’s demanding a change in management.” Bea told them. “Any gym leaders that want to keep their gym have to fight for it.”

This struck them as a horrible idea. “But some gyms have been in the League for ages!” A few were family-owned, passed down from generation to generation. Their own was newer, but the blow still stung.

“I know.” She sounded determined, like she always did. “Which is why you and I are going to enter the ring.”

Allister hesitated. “C-Can’t _ you _handle it?” They protested, a bit whiny. “I’m no good at all that battle stuff.”

“‘Course you are.” She waved their concerns aside. “Besides, we ain’t no cowards, are we?”

Their stomach hurt a little. “... N-No. We ain’t that at all.” 

Bea ruffled their hair. “Good. You’re a swell kid. He’ll see that, I promise.”

Leon was very critical, but surprisingly, it was going well. They actually felt like the two of them could pull the dual-type gym thing off. The champion even praised them on following the lead of the Unovans, who had done it first ‘in a more boring way’.

Things ran smoothly for two weeks before It happened.

Bea was battling Milo at the time. She pointed at her Hitmontop, the way she always did. “Okay, use-”

She faltered. That was the first warning sign. “Um. Use…” Her hand flew to her temple. The second one. “Huh.”

Her opponent paused. “You okay?” He asked, clearly concerned.

Allister couldn’t forget how it felt to watch Bea tell Milo very firmly that she was about to faint. It was on a vicious loop, over and over, in their head without pause. Mere moments passed between her words and collapsing. 

Their world shrank down to her falling form. No sound existed. Nothing else at all.

Later, Milo told them that they had gone hysterical. They could believe it. It hurt too much to talk for 2 days afterwards. 

Now that she was in the hospital though, things weren’t much better. The funny thing about hospitals was the duality of it all. The smell never made you feel like you were drowning in sickness, but it made you nauseous anyway. It was too clean for their tastes. Allister didn’t like it at all.

Just as they were contemplating bothering the receptionist again, the door swung open.

“Chansey!” The nurse chirped. They returned Mimikyu and rose, relaxing. If it was a Chansey, there was nothing to worry about. The human nurses were the ones you had to watch out for.

They followed after the sweet pink healer, feet making no noise on the tile floor. The door closed behind the two of them, like they’d never been there at all.

(They were vaguely sure that the poor lady working the front desk appreciated that.)

* * *

_ Leaving a white candle in someone’s hospital room is seen as a death threat. While said belief was popularized in Unova for obvious reasons, it’s since spread to Kalos and Galar through cultural exchange. Even we Alolans have been slightly influenced by these views, though leaving a bucket of sand is usually more grave. _

_ If your Rival hands you one, you should probably watch your back. _

\- an excerpt from _An Alolan Guidebook to Galar_

* * *

“An’  _ this _ is acceptable?!?”

Allister knew that voice, but not with that righteous rage behind it. They took in the scene of a sulky doctor facing a truly livid aspiring gym leader, one that was clutching a stubby white candle in his head.

“Like I  _ said,  _ sir,” the doctor insisted petulantly, “we don’t  _ have  _ cameras in this ward. It’s a security risk, considering the type of people we treat here.”

“Oh, so death threats ain’t a security risk now?” Milo shook the candle for emphasis. They had never seen him that angry before. Or at all. Allister kinda assumed that he was just a permanently dopey guy.

“Please refrain from putting words in my mouth.” They rebuked him. “We’ll be doing everything we can to investigate the incident, but there’s not a lot we can do right now. She’s fine physically, which is our main priority. That being said, the next step of protocol is contacting the family, and you do not count.”

“Th-That’d be me.” 

The two adults swiveled to look at them, visibly blanching as they did. “Allister!” Milo laughed uncomfortably. “Didn’t see ya there.”

“I know.” They replied with a shrug. “S-Someone did the Litwick thing again?”

Milo nodded, confirming this. “No one knows whodunnit yet, but I’m thinkin’ it’s just some creepy fan. Ain’t never satisfied, that bunch.”

“It’s possible.” The doctor conceded. 

“Eh… It’s ok… She’d hate it more if it was sand.” They admitted candidly. “She’d probably cry then.”

This wasn’t at all true because Bea  _ never _ cried, but Milo didn’t need to know that. It seemed to make him feel better.

The doctor’s smile seemed very strained. “Is that so? I’ll keep that in mind if there are any further incidents. That being said, visiting hours are over, sir. Do you have anything to say before you go?” It was a clear dismissal. 

The older man, for his part, didn’t look irritated. “Are you gonna be okay? I mean, here by yourself. I can wait outside if ya need me.”

Allister considered it. Milo went above and beyond to be nice. Ever since the contest began, he had proven that, time and time again. But everyone there could feel the coming ‘but’, and it was very awkward to experience. 

“I-It’s fine.” They told him. “I mean, thanks, but I don’t really know you.”

The flinch was so brief that Allister was almost sure they didn’t see it properly. “Ah, I know!” He smiled. “But, if y’all need anything at all, call me.”

“Uh huh…” They weren’t planning on it.

“Bye, Mimikyu!” He waved at their partner, who made a surprised noise of delight at being acknowledged. (They had let them out earlier for comfort, back in one of the longer hallways.) “Bye, Allister.”

They waved back, more on reflex than anything. “Bye.”

Bea would probably lecture them on politeness if she knew. Bea would probably do a lot of things if she wasn’t sick.

Their stomach twisted.

As he left, the Chansey waddled in front of him, no doubt trying to show the way back to the front. He smiled warmly down at the little nurse.

Milo was nice. They just didn’t trust him enough yet for that.

“How are you holding up?” The medical professional asked.

“Mm.” 

“That’s good!” Leave it to a doctor to be diplomatic. “She’s resting right now, but she’s very stable. I think we’re coming close to understanding what’s wrong.

“Can…” They floundered. “Can I see her?”

They nodded, still wearing a fake smile. “Go ahead. I’ll get a colleague to talk to you about future treatment options.” 

Allister peeked in on her as the adult left. Bea’s chest rose and fell slowly. Even without what the doctor said, it felt like a shame to wake her up. They were just so  _ happy,  _ happy that she was still alive, even if she was sick. They could work on that part later.

“What do you say, Mimikyu? Wanna wait here with me?” They reached down to pick up the ghost, ignoring the cold writhing flesh brushing against their hands.

“Me!” Mimikyu cried in agreement.

Allister smiled behind the mask. Everything here was sterile and cold, and they were worried, but things would turn out okay. That’s just how their family was.


	2. Back to the Grind

“Welcome back, Allister!” The champion always talked in a booming manner. They winced at the assault of sound, but only a little. “How’s your sis?”

“The s-same.”  _ Still bedridden. _

Leon frowned. “Poor girl. Still, I’m glad you’re sticking with us! You’re up against Sue today.”

They held in a groan. She was a weird candidate, even for them. Sue kept insisting that Galar was the origin of the ‘Sound’ type, even though there was no evidence for that existing. But Bea wouldn’t want them to complain. All opponents have merit, she said. Stop being a baby, she said.

“Okay.” They said instead. “I’ll… I’ll do my best!” 

“Good answer! You remind me of my brother, you know!”

Allister got the sudden sense that this was a high compliment. “Thank y-you! Alola!” They made the waving motion and rushed off before Leon could say anything else embarrassing.

Fighting Sue was boring. Sure, she mostly used Normal types, but it was easy to counter those when you had more than just Ghost moves at your disposal. 

“I can’t believe you beat me! The power of sound shouldn’t be halted by the likes of you!” She wailed dramatically before winking. “Does that sound like a good defeat quote?”

They shrugged. “Mm.”

She looked disappointed. “Whatever. I’ll work on it.” 

Now that she said it, they wondered what they could use as  _ their _ defeat quote. Nothing came to mind. Did Bea ever come up with one of those? Probably. They didn’t watch the matches where she lost, after all.

A lot of things went into being a trainer. Maybe they’d never learn them all.

The worry bit into them, taking out a chunk.

* * *

_ Rule 15: Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and Champions are expected to- This is dumb. What does this even  _ mean? 

_ I’m serious. Why would I ever need a thing to say once someone beats me? I never lose!  _

\- a cropped transcript from a meeting with Champion Leon after his first championship (age 13)

* * *

“Hey, buddy! Mind if I sit ‘ere?” Milo again? 

Allister nodded. “You can...” They were curious now. What did he want?

“Is Bea okay? I haven’t been ‘round to visit. See, Nessa had a swim meet, and Hop-”

“I-It’s okay.” They cut him off. “I heard.” It wasn’t hard to get news these days, especially news about the champion’s family. Hop’s dramatic decision to quit Coordinator school set a  _ lot  _ of people off. They would know. Some of their…  _ fans _ (and wasn’t that weird to think about) had asked for their opinion. Allister hadn’t been sure on what to say.

Milo relaxed. “What did you think?” He asked, beaming.

“... Nessa did well.” Allister said slowly. “And I th-think Hop can do what he wants… Contests aren’t big where I’m from, so.” They left it at that.

He nodded, still emitting this warm sort of happiness. It was nice to bask in. “Same here. Leon was all ready to send him to Sinnoh, y’know. Had the money and everything. ‘M glad it worked out.” 

This felt like a secret, something they weren’t meant to hear. “... I’m glad too.” They said hesitantly, not sure what the right response was. 

“But seriously!” Milo sounded more bubbly than usual. “How is she?”

“She hasn’t changed.” Allister admitted. “Still sick.” They didn’t mention that the doctors weren’t sure if she’d be getting better. It’d be a downer.

“Oh.” His smile fell a little. “Well! She’ll get there.” 

For a moment, they felt optimism course through them. It was bound to fade, but right then, they felt a little more normal than before. 

“Do you want to train together?” Milo offered. Another gesture. They’d have to think hard about ulterior motives later.

“...Sure.” They decided. It couldn’t hurt. Fighting him was better than dealing with Sue anyway. 

“Good!” He gave them a thumbs up. “Let’s do this!”

Allister adjusted their mask with a nod. They’d win for their sister. They’d win for Bea.

And then maybe, just maybe, Milo could tell them if groaning like a zombie counted as a defeat quote.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! 
> 
> I did NOT edit this because I was doing a four fic writing spree in Google Docs, so. Rip.
> 
> \- Again, I write Allister as being nb and using they/them pronouns!!! 
> 
> \- Sue's a joke. There was a leak talking about a Sound type gym leader with that name, and I remember NOTHING ELSE about it except for that and the fact that Allister and Bea were not mentioned at all.
> 
> \- I hc Milo as Unovan, and Bea + Allister as Alolan. Actually, this has a lot of little headcanons about the characters and the way their world works. 
> 
> I don't really expect this to be canon compliant in any way, shape, or form, but it was fun!!! Thanks for reading. Remember to talk to me at bi-hop (my tumblr) if you want!!!! Have a nice day, y'all.


End file.
